IL Postcard

Saudi Prince Among "Rich and Famous" Investing in Costa Rica

Date: 08/14/2007

Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal spent the weekend vacationing in Costa Rica's northwestern province of Guanacaste after arriving in a private 747 Boeing jet.

The prince, listed by Forbes magazine as the 13th-richest billionaire in the world with a fortune of $20.3 billion, was in Costa Rica not only for pleasure, but also for business. Bin Talal is a principal shareholder-along with Bill Gates-in the Four Seasons chain of hotels, including one on Costa Rica's Papagayo Peninsula, known for its exclusive, luxury resorts.

The 52-year-old prince and his 48-person entourage arrived at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, and spent the weekend at the Four Seasons. Sunday, he flew by helicopter to San José and met with president Oscar Arias for half an hour.

In a subsequent press conference in Arias' Casa Presidencial (Presidential House), the prince announced he would be investing in at least six more hotels in Costa Rica, two of those on the Papagayo Gulf.

The Saudi prince is the latest in the celebrity parade that has passed through Costa Rica, expressing interest in real estate here. Last week, it was announced that America Online's Steve Case plans to build an $800-million resort, the largest ever in Costa Rica. That project will be developed in cooperation with Sol Kerzner, the man behind the famed Atlantis Paradise Island Resort in the Bahamas.
Last month, it was Mel Gibson that met personally with President Arias after having bought a large swath of property in Guanacaste.

Some of these investors hope to do some good deeds while investing in Costa Rica. Case plans to undertake a reforestation effort and establish a $1-million scholarship fund for local environmental initiatives. Gibson, on the other hand, met with President Arias to discuss possible social projects for Costa Rica's indigenous.

Your Latin America Insider,

Suzan Haskins
for International Living

P.S. What about Costa Rica (and Costa Rican real estate) is drawing the rich and famous? The same things that attract us regular Janes and Joes, as well. Learn what they are and how even you can take advantage of all Costa Rica has to offer.